Tracking the Justices’ Dissents in Criminal Cases, 2008-2015

Yesterday, we reviewed the California Supreme Court’s dissents in civil cases between 2008 and 2015. Today, we turn to the Justices’ dissents in criminal cases for the same years.

Justice Kennard led the Court in 2008 and 2009, writing 6 dissents in criminal cases each year. In 2008, Justice Chin wrote two dissents and Justice Werdegar one. In 2009, Justice Moreno wrote four dissents, Justice Baxter two and Justice Chin one. In 2010, Justice Moreno led with five dissents in criminal cases, Justice Werdegar wrote four, Justice Corrigan two and Justice Kennard one. In 2011, Justice Werdegar wrote seven dissents in criminal cases and Justice Kennard wrote six. In 2012, Justices Kennard and Liu led, writing six dissents apiece in criminal cases. Justices Corrigan and Werdegar wrote two apiece, and Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye and Justice Chin wrote one each. For 2013, Justice Kennard once again led with four dissents. Justices Corrigan, Werdegar and Liu wrote two dissents each and Justice Baxter wrote one. For 2014, Justices Liu and Kennard wrote four dissents each, and Justices Corrigan and Werdegar wrote one apiece. Last year, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye and Justices Werdegar and Chin led with three dissents in criminal cases. Justices Corrigan and Liu wrote two apiece, and Justice Cuellar wrote one.

About this Blog

In the next few years, data analytics will revolutionize litigation. At the California Supreme Court Review, we’ve mined dozens of data points from every one of the more than 3,000 decisions handed down by the California Supreme Court from 1990 through 2017. We use that unique database to share new insights culled from tens of thousands of pages of opinions about the Justices and their decision-making process, the parties and issues which come before the Court.